Social Media

Why You Can't Say Hashtag in France

French Twitter users are saying "au revoir" to the word "hashtag" in an effort to protect the French language from anglicisms.

Instead, hashtag will be replaced with "mot-dièse," meaning "sharp word" in English. The change comes from the French government agency called the Commission Générale de Terminologie et de Néologie, which is responsible for promoting the French language. The group's main goal is to keep French relevant in the age of the Internet, where most widespread terms have their origins in English.

It's a legal requirement for all government correspondence and legislation to use "mot-dièse," but French Twitter users won't be punished if they use "hashtag" in its place.

This isn't the first time France has changed up its vocabulary to avoid English words creeping into the language. In 2003, France replaced the word "email" with "courriel," and attempted to create new terms for Wi-Fi and blog.

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